2021 FIFA U-20 World Cup

The 2021 FIFA U-20 World Cup would have been the 23rd edition of the FIFA U-20 World Cup, the biennial international men's youth football championship contested by the under-20 national teams of the member associations of FIFA, since its inception in 1977 as the FIFA World Youth Championship. It would have been hosted by Indonesia between 20 May and 12 June 2021,[1] which would have been be the first FIFA tournament hosted by the country.[2] It would have also been only the second U-20 World Cup to be held in Southeast Asia, first since 1997, and the first FIFA tournament in the region since the 2012 FIFA Futsal World Cup.

2021 FIFA U-20 World Cup
Piala Dunia di Bawah Usia 20 Tahun 2021
Piala Dunia U-20 2021
Piala Dunia U-20 FIFA 2021
Tournament details
Host countryIndonesia
DatesCancelled
Teams24 (from 6 confederations)
Venue(s)6 (in 6 host cities)

Ukraine were the defending champions, but would have not qualify for the tournament after the UEFA decided to cancel 2020 UEFA European Under-19 Championship in Northern Ireland due to COVID-19 pandemic in Europe, and nominated five countries to participate in the U-20 World Cup based on the UEFA qualifying round coefficient ranking for the 2019–20 season.[3] In doing so, they became the seventh consecutive incumbent title holders to fail to qualify for the subsequent tournament.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the tournament was cancelled on 24 December 2020. Indonesia was then awarded the right to host the subsequent FIFA U-20 World Cup instead.[4]

Host selection

Five bids to host the tournament were submitted per 23 May 2019.[5] On 4 September 2019 there were three active bids under consideration.[6] On 23 October 2019 it was reported that Brazil withdrew their bid due to low winning chances.[7] The next day, Indonesia was announced as the winning bidder after the FIFA Council meeting in Shanghai, China.[2]

  •  Indonesia (AFC)

Indonesia had never hosted any FIFA tournament before, however had co-hosted the 2007 AFC Asian Cup, and solely hosted the 1962 and 2018 Asian Games.

  •  Peru (CONMEBOL)

Peru had hosted one FIFA tournament, the 2005 FIFA U-17 World Championship. They originally won the bid to host the 2019 FIFA U-17 World Cup but later withdrawn by FIFA.

Withdrawn bids
  •  Myanmar /  Thailand (AFC)

Thailand had hosted the 2004 FIFA U-19 Women's World Championship and the 2012 FIFA Futsal World Cup while Myanmar had never hosted any FIFA tournament.

The joint bid of Myanmar and Thailand was withdrawn in favor of the Indonesian bid on 27 August 2019.[8]

  •  Bahrain /  Saudi Arabia /  United Arab Emirates (AFC)

Bahrain had never hosted any FIFA tournament. Saudi Arabia had hosted four FIFA tournaments, the last three were the first three editions of the FIFA Confederations Cup, originally King Fahd Cup, named after the then-Saudi king. United Arab Emirates had held seven FIFA tournaments, namely the 2009 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup, the 2013 FIFA U-17 World Cup, and four FIFA Club World Cups (2009, 2010, 2017, and 2018). Saudi and UAE were also the only countries in the bidding process to had hosted the U-20 World Cup before, in 1989 and 2003 respectively.

The joint bid of Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and UAE was left out from the list of FIFA U-20 World Cup bidders on 4 September 2019.[6]

  •  Brazil (CONMEBOL)

Brazil had the most impressive record of hosting FIFA tournaments among the bidding countries individually; it had hosted two men's senior FIFA World Cups (1950 and 2014), the 2016 Olympic men's and women's football tournaments, the 2000 FIFA Club World Championship, the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup, and was about to host the 2019 FIFA U-17 World Cup during the bidding process. It also hosted the 2008 FIFA Futsal World Cup and the first three editions of the FIFA-organized Beach Soccer World Cup (2005, 2006, and 2007), to make a total of 11 FIFA tournaments hosted.

Brazil withdrew on 23 October 2019 due to expectations of low winning chances according to Brazilian network Rede Globo.[7] Had they won this bid, they would have become the first country to host all categories of FIFA-organized men's tournament (senior, U-20, U-17, Futsal, Club, and Beach Soccer).

Qualified teams

A total of 24 teams would have qualified for the final tournament. In addition to Indonesia which automatically qualified as hosts, 23 other teams would have qualified from six separate continental competitions. Here are the teams which had secured qualification to the tournament prior to its cancellation.

Confederation Qualifying tournament Team Appearance Last appearance Previous best performance
AFC (Asia) Host nation  Indonesia 2nd 1979 Group stage (1979)
UEFA (Europe)
(5 teams)		 2020 UEFA European Under-19 Championship
(cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic in Europe,
teams were nominated by UEFA)[3]		  England 12th 2017 Champions (2017)
 France 8th 2019 Champions (2013)
 Italy 8th 2019 Third place (2017)
 Netherlands 5th 2005 Quarter-finals (1983, 2001, 2005)
 Portugal 13th 2019 Champions (1989, 1991)

Venues

The Football Association of Indonesia (PSSI) proposed 10 stadiums across 10 municipalities in 7 provinces and two time zones. Four of them are located in regencies instead of cities; Wibawa Mukti Stadium in Cikarang (Bekasi Regency), Pakansari Stadium in Cibinong (Bogor Regency), Jalak Harupat Stadium in Soreang (Bandung Regency), and Kapten I Wayan Dipta Stadium in Gianyar (Gianyar Regency) – the only proposed venue to be outside of WIB time zone (UTC+7). Eight are located in the island of Java (four of which are built inside the Jakarta metropolitan area), one in Sumatra, and one in Bali. West Java had the most proposed venues with four; in Cikarang, Cibinong, Soreang, and Bekasi City (Patriot Stadium).[9]

Among these venues, six would be selected to eventually host the tournament. The announcement was to be held in March 2020,[10] but due to the COVID-19 pandemic it was postponed to later that year. On 26 June 2020, the PSSI announced the selected 6 venues.[11] All West Java venues but Soreang were not selected, along with Mandala Krida Stadium in Yogyakarta. The selection was said to be approved by FIFA sometime later that year.

Jakarta Surabaya Soreang
Gelora Bung Karno Stadium Gelora Bung Tomo Stadium Jalak Harupat Stadium
Capacity: 77,193 Capacity: 45,280 Capacity: 27,000
2021 FIFA U-20 World Cup (Indonesia)
Surakarta Gianyar Palembang
Manahan Stadium Kapten I Wayan Dipta Stadium Gelora Sriwijaya Stadium
Capacity: 20,000 Capacity: 22,931 Capacity: 23,000

Development and preparation

The government of Indonesia has formed the tournament's organizing committee by the name of Indonesia FIFA U-20 World Cup Organizing Committee (INAFOC).[12] During a cabinet meeting on 1 July 2020, Indonesian president Joko Widodo appointed Minister of Youth and Sports Zainudin Amali as the committee's chair.[13]

References
  1. "Workshop Virtual untuk Persiapan Piala Dunia U-20" [Virtual Workshop for U-20 World Cup Preparation]. pssi.org (in Indonesian). Football Association of Indonesia. 17 June 2020. Retrieved 27 June 2020.
  2. "FIFA Council unanimously appoints China PR as hosts of new Club World Cup in 2021". FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 24 October 2019. Retrieved 24 October 2019.
  3. "2020 Under-19 EURO cancelled". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 20 October 2020. Retrieved 21 October 2020.
  4. "Update on FIFA Women's World Cup™ and men's youth competitions". FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 24 December 2020. Retrieved 24 December 2020.
  5. "Five expressions of interest received for hosting FIFA U-20 World Cup 2021". FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 23 May 2019. Retrieved 23 May 2019.
  6. "Three bids submitted for FIFA U-20 World Cup 2021™". FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 4 September 2019. Retrieved 4 September 2019.
  7. Siqueira, Igor (23 October 2019). "Fifa deve escolher China para Mundial de Clubes 2021; Brasil perde força por Sub-20" [FIFA should choose China for Club World Cup 2021; Brazil loses strength by U-20]. O Globo (in Portuguese). Retrieved 27 June 2020.
  8. "Indonesia, the lone ASEAN bid for FIFA U-20 World Cup 2021". ASEAN Football Federation. 27 August 2019. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
  9. Murfi Aji (24 October 2019). "10 Stadion yang Diajukan PSSI Untuk Piala Dunia U-20 2021" [10 Stadiums Which PSSI Proposed for the 2021 FIFA U-20 World Cup]. Bolalob.com (in Indonesian). Retrieved 26 October 2019.
  10. Mohammad Ilham, ed. (25 January 2020). "PSSI Tunda Pengumuman Resmi Venue Piala Dunia U-20, GBT Belum Aman" [PSSI Postponed Official Announcement on U20 World Cup's Official Venues, GBT Still Under Question]. JawaPos.com (in Indonesian). Retrieved 25 January 2020.
  11. Cakrayuri Nuralam (27 June 2020). "6 Stadion Ini Ditetapkan PSSI Gelar Piala Dunia U-20 2021" [These 6 Stadiums is Determined by PSSI to Held the 2021 U-20 World Cup]. Liputan6.com (in Indonesian). Retrieved 27 June 2020.
  12. Kukuh Wahyudi (22 February 2020). "INASFOC (sic) Telah Ditetapkan Jadi Nama Panitia, Kini PSSI Diinstruksikan Membuat Logo Piala Dunia U-20 2021" [INASFOC (sic) has been Determined as the Committee's Name, Now PSSI are Instructed to Create the 2021 U-20 World Cup's logo]. Bolalob.com (in Indonesian). Retrieved 27 June 2020.
  13. Nirmala Maulana Achmad, ed. (1 July 2020). "Zainudin Amali Ditunjuk Jadi Ketua Penyelenggara Piala Dunia U20 2021" [Zainudin Amali is Appointed as the 2021 FIFA U-20 World Cup Organizing Committee Chair]. Kompas.com (in Indonesian). Retrieved 3 July 2020.
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